Top prospects moving on to the Minnesota Twins.
The league MVP.
The league home-run leader.
A league championship.
The Chattanooga Lookouts celebrate their Southern League championship win over the Biloxi Shuckers Monday at AT&T Field.There was a lot to like about the Chattanooga Lookouts during the 2015 season, which ended Monday night with a 4-0 win over Biloxi in the deciding game of the Southern League's best-of-five title series at AT&T Field. It was Chattanooga's first championship since 1988.
"This was a lot of fun," Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo said Tuesday. "It was a fun team and a good group of guys. It's been an enjoyable year."
Monday's celebration occurred without two of the stars who paved the way to Chattanooga's first-half North Division title - third baseman Miguel Sano and center fielder Byron Buxton. Sano was promoted to the Twins on July 1 and has been an instant success, hitting .280 with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs in his first 67 big-league games.
"I had Miguel Sano two years ago in the Florida State League, and he was so young," Lookouts first-year manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. "He's still a puppy, and to see him doing what he's doing at the big-league level kind of gives you that pride you have as a parent. You've had some of these kids for so long, and to see them on TV every night gives you a sense of pride, because you had a little hand in helping him achieve his goals."
Buxton was promoted to Minnesota on June 14 but has struggled. He has battled several injuries and has hit .197 with six doubles and two RBIs in his first 37 games.
"He's in the big leagues, so he's competing at the highest level of his profession," Mientkiewicz said. "Sano had a little more time here than Byron did. Byron got thrown to the wolves a little bit, so to speak, but there are ways he is helping them. He's not there offensively yet, but that will come in time.
"Having him in center field and having his threat on the bases changes the way you manage games."
Chattanooga roared to a 43-25 first half, but the departures of Buxton and Sano staggered the Lookouts out of the gate in the second half. They lost 13 of 16 games but regrouped somewhat behind Adam Walker and Max Kepler to finish 33-36 in the second half and 76-61 overall.
Walker set a franchise record with 31 homers this season, while Kepler became just the fourth Lookouts player to win Southern League MVP - joining Brady Clark (1999), Joey Votto (2006) and Scott Van Slyke (2011). Kepler, who hit .322 during the regular season and had three homers in the championship series, was called up to the Twins on Tuesday.
"We've waited a long time for Max to kind of put it together since we drafted him out of Germany when he was 16," Mientkiewicz said. "To see his progression from a couple of years ago until now is just a huge leap."
Said Kepler: "We did everything right. Even through the losses, we stayed tough on each other and kept everyone motivated. It was an amazing year."
Mozingo and new owner Jason Freier will get together in upcoming weeks to map out the purchasing of championship rings for the players, which should be available for them around January. Scheduled to be available for Lookouts fans as early as late this afternoon are Southern League title T-shirts in the AT&T Field gift shop.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.